Raining Cats & Dogs!

Well, it's raining. Not a nice, slow steady rain. Not a light sprinkle. HEAVY, BIG, FAT DROPS. SHEETS OF WATER ARE FALLING FROM THE SKY. We are--and it's predicted will be--under a flash flood warning until WHO KNOWS WHEN. It's crazy....crazy I tell you!!

This is what www.weather.com has to say about the flooding in Gillespie County [which for those of you who do not know is where Fredericksburg is located]:


Flood Warning Update
625 AM CDT FRI MAY 25 2007
THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE PEDERNALES RIVER AT FREDERICKSBURG. * AT 6AM FRIDAY THE STAGE WAS 28.4 FEET. * MODERATE FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND MODERATE FLOODING IS FORECAST. * FLOOD STAGE IS 22.0 FEET. * BANKFULL STAGE IS 12.0 FEET. * IMPACT...AT 29.0 FEET...MODERATE LOWLAND FLOODING INUNDATES SECONDARY ROADS AND BRIDGES FROM THE HEADWATERS ABOVE HARPER TO BELOW STONEWALL - FENCES AND SIGNS ARE DESTROYED IN LBJ NATIONAL PARK AT STONEWALL AS FLOW IS WELL INTO THE FLOOD PLAIN AND MANY FEET OVER THE PARK ROAD 49 BRIDGE. &&
BELOW ARE THE LATEST RIVER STAGES AND FORECASTS:
BF FLD OBSERVED FORECAST 6AM LST LOCATION STG STG STG DAY TIME FRI SAT SUN MON TUE

I'm okay....well except for the water that's coming in under my patio door, SOAKING my boxes of books that were happily hanging out waiting for transport to storage. Are we all just SOOOO excited about May showers?!?!?!?!?

:I SHEZ

Beginning of the End

Well, today is my last day at the wine shop. It's hard to believe that it's here, but it is....of course, there's still a lot to do, but today's going to be dedicated to packin' & drinkin'--although perhaps not in that order.

Of course, Izzy swears I'll be back--and of that I have no doubt, as it's my home away from home. Turning in the key is going to feel strange, but it is time to move on.....

:ISHEZ

Start Spreading The News....

It's official--I'm headed to The Big Apple! New York, New York. Home of Columbia University. I officially submitted my acceptance and sent in [eeck!] my $500 deposit yesterday. Now would be a great time to solicit for the Sherry's Going Back to School Fund. Please give generously and often!! no? not interested? Okay, how about the Stella & Addy Fund to Keep Us Living in the Cush Life to Which We Are Accustomed? still no? okay, fine....

Tom has very eloquently reminded me that technically I am a non-traditional student and should have more access to grants/loans/scholarships. Hmmm....was that a polite way of calling me old????

Okay, gotta go--lots to do in the upcoming weeks, but will keep you informed of the WHOLE process!! Am excited, am nervous, am officially crazy!!! but how fun it is!!!

YAY FOR ME!!
:I SHEZ

HELP!

Okay, technically, my pic should be in the wanted poster, but we alllllllllllllllllll know how technologically challenged I am--perhaps I'll work on that later this evening, but I'm not making any guarantees!

Anyway, I'm getting locked up...for good!! At least for an hour or so--it's to help raise money for MDA and I have to collect Bail Money to get out. Here's hoping the Judge is lenient enough to not keep me there forever [of course, there = Chili's....so I'm imagining serving out my sentence with a Grande Margarita!!] sigh...I can dream, can't I????

If you'd like to help bail me out of jail, please send contact me as soon as possible for your pledge. Arrest date is May 24, which is right around the corner. Just remember that even if you like the thought of me being locked up, there are kids with Muscular Dystrophy who need your help. To learn more about MD, go to www.mdusa.org

:I SHEZ

Whatta Wacked Out Weekend!

What a crazy, busy weekend! Not only was it Easter but of course, I was working all weekend. It all started Friday afternoon with a call from DDC. Stella & Roxie [Sheila's dog] got into a fight. Now we all know that Stella & Roxie are very verbal with each other and DDC knows not to put them together in the big pen. However, there is a new girl and new girl was moving the dogs around and didn't properly close the gate to the big pen. Roxie seeing an open gate, pushed over the new girl and beelined for Stella. SIX stitches later...my poor baby is limping and moping about...of course, she was overly excited about getting to go out to Grammers--gimpy leg and all!

We went up to Mom's Friday night for a little R&R. I thought it'd be nice since I was working Easter lunch, however, TOTALLY forgot that Andon's 1st birthday party was scheduled for the next day at Mom's house. So, there was NO R&R to be found anywhere! I perfectly timed our arrival so that I could let the girls run around for a bit and add my two cents about what to do for dinner. After dinner, we all looked for Sammy [Mom's cat] who with all the hoop-la went on walkabout sometime in the afternoon. Stella eventually found him--which also created some excitement. Unbeknownst to any of us Aunt Barbara delivered the cakes while we were at dinner. Dean...funny, goofy Deano in being silly with The Girls, stuck his hand in one of the cakes. DOH! Teresa fussed, but Momma fixed it--mostly. [we found out the next day when Aunt Barbara came out, she had already messed it up on the drive out!!]

The next morning I was puttering around the house; threw The Girls outside to run around and play before we had to leave. It was kinda dreary out but Addy loves water and Stella loves to run around and I didn't think anything more about it....until about 15 minutes later they were BEGGING to get back in. Of course, I fussed a bit [go play. you never get to run around. go!] I felt kinda bad because it was sleeting. Oops. I let them in as soon as I realized it wasn't rain, it was sleet. Stella's never been more happy to come inside in her life! Bad Momma! Well, sleepy not fully caffeinated Momma! 45 minutes--that was the driving time back to town [it only took 25 minutes to drive out] because of the roads and the sleet. I figured it would stop, but alas, no--it didn't...in fact, sleet soon gave way to SNOW! it was magical and so-very-UNEaster-in-Texas. Of course, the temp was too high to stick to the ground, but we got the big, fluffy white stuff!!

Easter was good. Brunch was busy--not crazy busy, but a nice steady busy. Afterwards, Bubba & Lauren and the girls stopped by on their way back from Mom's [who on the phone was a little toooooo happy for me not to come out...I think she was wanting peace & QUIET!]--Lala and Reesie were asleep, but I got rid of the last of my Ranch stuff [woo-hoo!]--books & etc that were Bubba's.

The Girls & I had a quiet evening at home. All is well.

:Ishez

PS--forgot to mention most exciting news of the weekend: Kevin and Monique got engaged!! :) wedding date: October 27

Ain't No Foolin'!

I am pleased to announce that Penny & Michael now have a beautiful addition to their family--Miss Adelaide Zipporah Ayling. She was born on March 31st at 5:19pm. She was 12 days early [headstrong, like her Mum!!] and weighed in at 5lbs14oz. Mum & bubba are doing well and according to proud papa, Adelaide is "testing her new lungs and larnyx to good effect".

Welcome Baby Adelaide!
Love,
Auntie Shezza

Spring Cleaning!

Happy Spring Equinox
[even though technically it happened at 12:07 GMT, as April was quick to remind me!]

Spring has sprung and so too have the urges of spring cleaning. Monday--amongst everything else that I had to do/supposed to do, I hunkered down in the apartment and did 7--yes SEVEN--loads of laundry. threw out ALL non-paired socks [talk about liberating!] and FINALLY went through the remaining boxes from the ranch [talk about uber-liberating!] I threw out all sorts of papers and crap, crap, crap. I think I--all by my lonesome--filled an entire dumpster! Some of these boxes hadn't been opened for 10+ years, so I figured if I've lived without it for this long, I probably don't really need it anyway...so I kept a few mementos that would fit into my scrapbooks and ditched the rest!! I have reclaimed my dining room!!! YAY!!

of course, the reclaiming lasted about 5 minutes until I could move the dog crates into the space. Dog crates, you ask? Yep, I finally broke down and bought them each one. They're huge, but luckily were on sale, so I paid a whoooooole lot less than I thought I would! double YAY!! I probably didn't need the biggest ones, but NOTHING BUT THE BEST FOR MY BABIES! Stella & Addy are adjusting to them. Addy likes to lay in Stella's crate when they're open [ie I'm at home and it's raining so I won't let her outside]. Stella's very good about going in when I say "kennel"--Addy, not so much, although she's getting better [she is afterall, just a puppy!]

So, now that my house is pretty much cleaned and organized--save one closet, which is clean--just needs to be reorganized! So I feel very productive....and the wineshop is next!

Happy Spring!
:I shez

Chhhhhh-changes!

Well, I'm in the final countdown to hearing back from universities....so needless to say [but I'm gonna say it anyway], I'm a bit panicked! But in an effort to remain true to my leaving The 'Burg, I've started job searching and putting out feelers for where is next for Stella, Addy, & I to live. Of course, job searching for me is not easy, as there's a lot I can do and a lot that I'm interested in but mainly what I really want to do, I'm not qualified for without further schooling and some experience. So I've taken to also looking into different places I might want to live and then job searching specifically in those cities.

clear as mud?

i found the website www.findyourspot.com took their little quiz [okay, it's like 7 or 8 pages, so not so little] and here are the top 24 cities in the USA, based on my answers:

Albuquerque, NM
Hartford, CT
Portland, OR
Honolulu, HI
Boston, MA
Providence, RI
New Haven, CT
San Jose, CA
San Fransisco, CA
Seattle, WA
Baltimore, MD
Denver, CO
Little Rock, AR
Worcester, MA
Washington, DC
Las Vegas, NV [baby!]
Carlisle, PA [huh?]
Milwaukee, WI
Cincinnati, OH
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
Oakland, CA [uh, i don't think so!]
Knoxville, TN
Baton Rouge, LA

notice anything particular? NO TEXAS CITIES!?!?!?! I'm not exactly sure how that happened, although I did mention something about liking definite season changes and not insanely long, excriutatingly hot summers...oh wait...[ding!]

while I haven't been to many of them, there are quite a few on the list that for me, would rank a LOT lower than Austin, Dallas, or San Antonio. But there are a few surprises that I might check out as well--and NO it's not going to be Oakland!!!!!!!

very interesting. wonder if they have anything similar but with international cities???

more later!
:I shez

ps--new wires on braces--hurt waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than getting braces on....please refer to my previously written Christmas carol and multiply times 10! :(

Introducing.....Addy!

Okay, it's official--I'm nuts!! [of course you knew this]

Stella got a sister. Her name is Addy. Someone just dropped her off at DDC and she was bouncing around among the staff and I just couldn't stand it...I couldn't.....I just couldn't. So I brought her home--with the understanding that IF Stella couldn't adjust, I'd have to bring her back, as it is Stella's home and she has to be okay with it.

I mean seriously--could you say no to this?

Of course, I didn't realize that she was still a puppy! Her original name was Bella, but that had to be changed, so I named her Addy--as in Adelaide, Queen of England from 1830-1837 [and is also the capitol of South Australia].

There have been a few growing pains--many caused by the fact that Addy is a lab puppy and doesn't know how to back down, much to the chagrin of her big sister. But because they're about the same size [YES, I AM CRAZY!] they play really well together. And Stella has taught little sister a couple of very handy things, such as jumping on the furniture and barking [Thanks Stel!] Stella likes to act very put-out by the new addition to our family...but seriously--does this look like a distressed dog?

tired? yep? distressed? i think not.

Unlike her big sister, Addy is a cuddly, follow Momma everywhere kind of dog. Although when I am stationary [ie sitting in the chair reading, playing my ds, watching telly], she will go outside and bask in the sunlight. Stella perches herself on the couch or bed to observe [i think mainly to avoid being pounced on by little sister!] And on a positive note for me, my arm muscles are starting to take more definite shape from walking these two mammoths!

crazy, i know....but happy!

:) shez

Holy Super Closet Cleaning Batman!

I just found out--or actually was just reminded--that I have carpet, albeit old, in my closets! Who knew?!?!? I have begun the countdown until leaving--which may be in May or may be in June--but I am systematically, slowly, and thoroughly going through EVERY SINGLE INCH of my apartment and sorting everything--throwing out and giving away a large chunk of it!! I'm being very slow, but very productive!!

But it's giving me something to do in my spare time. Why all the spare time: Cuvee closed. Yep for good. Why? Who knows what really happened. All I know is that this put a HUGE kink in my getting out of here by May [which is why I'm not sure if I'm leaving in May or June] So, now I'm looking for another night/weekend job...unfortunately, it's slow here in The 'Burg right now, so not many people are hiring and of course, the wineshop is my first priority which doesn't make my schedule very flexible. Plus I was extremely spoiled and the thought of "breaking" in new people isn't appealling right now!

I am enjoying the quiet evenings at home....of course, since we were given NO warning about Cuvee, I didn't have time to budget adjust, so I'm uber-poor right now. I've adjusted things like phone, car payment, student loan payment and cable, but not in time for February payments. Oh well, thank goodness February is a short month--6 days down, 22 to go!! Fortunately, I just bought coffee--otherwise the rest of the month might have just gotten ugly!!

Alright, must go--mountain of laundry [blocking the shower & toliet...you laugh, I'm serious!] is calling....

ciao for now!
:I shez

Happy Australia Day!

It's Australia Day--although I realize that by now, it's no longer Australia Day in Australia.

Australia marks the day [January 26, 1788] when Captain Arthur Phillip took formal possession of the colony of New South Wales and became its first Governor. The fledging colony soon began to celebrate the anniversary of this date. Manning Clarke notes that in 1808 the "anniversary of the foundation of the colony" was observed in the traditional manner with "drinking and merriment". The first official celebrations were held in 1818 to mark the 30th anniversary of white settlement. Governor Macquarie officiated at a thirty-gun salute during the day and a dinner ball at Government House that evening. [click on www.australiaday.gov.au to learn more, which is where I got the previous statements]...I'd love to tell you all about my previous Australia Day experiences, but I can't remember them--I have no doubt a lot of "drinking and merriment" were involved!!

So in honour of Australia Day--as no doubt you've heard numerous times at the Sydney Olympics and subsequent sporting event involving Australians: Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi!

Oh and before I forget--Happy Birthday Jordan!! :)

cheers!
:I shez

Snow Angel....

I have created the perfect snow angel...check it out!!

It dumped and I mean dumped a LOT of snow on Amarillo, just in time for my arrival on the 21st. Ironically, it was my plane out of Austin that got cancelled due to fog rather than my plane from DFW to Amarillo because of snow. I caught the next flight [at 6:30am] to DFW and got there in just enough time to barely catch my flight. OF COURSE American was actually thinking ahead and switched me to a later flight into Amarillo, but given I only had 52 hours in Amarillo to begin with, I didn't want to spend 2.5 hours sitting at DFW if I could actually make my original flight. The flight attendant told me if I could make it--across four terminals in 10 minutes--I could board the early flight as it wasn't yet full. So I am running through the airport like OJ while trying to call Christi & Becca to see if I got the early flight, could we go back to airport 'cuz there was NO WAY my luggage was making it! Literally made it just in time. Didn't get a seat assignment, they didn't even scan my boarding pass before i boarded [because well, it said that i was on a different flight]--the flight attendant was doing that as I was running down the boarding ramp and on to the plane. Just sit anywhere she said. Well I don't know--the plane only seats about 30 people....and the head count before I got on was about 10. The flight to AMA wasn't bad--it was kinda' cool because you could actually see the snow line on the ground....ahhh....how pretty. how white. how the hell are we going to land?????????????

Speaking of white, that was the color of my knuckles as we approached the runway, which we were now close enough to notice that it had a nice thick covering of ice and snow. We touch down, we bounce a bit, the plane fishtails, we sway back and forth and back and forth. I look out and realize "why worry? the worst that could happen at this point is we'd slide off the runway and into a field of snow." I get out my phone and snap a few pictures of the snow on the runway. Apparently the roads were just as bad as Becca, Eugene, Christi, Tracy, Xavier, and Victor were late in picking me up. I saw why when I piled into the suburban [how else are that many people going to travel in one vehicle] and we were headed back to Cindy & Lynn's house.

The rest of the afternoon was fun-filled and exciting. Well, except for maybe a trip to Wal-Mart with Becca on the way back from getting my luggage. I think at one point I was jumping up and down yelling "let's go, let's go, leeeet's checkout" I'm not sure, but I think I heard Becca mumbling something about needing to check medication. Hers or mine?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!? Cindy made an AWESOME dinner [as usual--when doesn't Cindy make something awesome!], we exchanged gifts--i got a box of chocolate covered cherries [that also came with a Nintendo DS], scarves, a coffee mug, a book of short stories, a book Elizabeth made me, a vest Becca crocheted, measuring tapes [I believe my comment as Christi, Chelle, and I opened our measuring tapes and just stared at them was "are you calling us fat???" but no, just was just sick of hearing us tell her that we didn't have a measuring tape when she called about a measurement for something she was making us], Tracy provided entertainment [no pervo, there were kids there--I was talking about a magic show!] and we ended the evening with several games of B-I-N-G-O! I actually won one game. SHOCKER! I never win! My prize was a magazine promising to lose 10 pounds quickly and had a chocolate cake on the cover....I've eaten a lot of chocolate cake, but have yet to lose that 10 pounds!

Monday we attempted to go to Borger, but the roads were too bad. After driving an hour and only getting about 20 miles, Lynn called it quits and we turned around and headed back to Amarillo. I was very sad not to get to see Nanny & Grandpa. It did, however, allow us a bit of free time, in which I got to make my snow angel in the front yard. At 3pm, Christi & I picked up Jillian, Caroline, Jarod, & Elizabeth from school and walked them to J & C's house [about 4 blocks] of course, we didn't realize that we'd have to cross a field o' snow to do so...and I actually ended up carrying Elizabeth across 1/2 the field! Tracy was waiting at the house and the kids tried to get him outside to attack him with snowballs, but we couldn't coax him out [although Jillian & Caroline got him pretty good when it was time for us to leave!]

It seemed to be a blink of an eye and I was back at the airport, noticing that the runway had been cleared of the ice and snow, heading back down to where the temps were a tad warmer. It was a fun trip, but waaaaaaaaaay too fast! at least this time the kids recognized me....

:I shez

Soggy Surprise!

Happy Birthday Momma!

Teresa & I decided it would be fun to throw Mom a surprise birthday/housewarming party. Everyone was to show up at 7pm at her gate [it's about 1/2 mile from gate to house] and we'd all drive down to the house together and everyone surprise her! I have to admit we are genius! It was great...even though the weather was NOT cooperating. Bubba kept complaining about why we had to do it on the messiest, yuckiest night of the year. I reminded him we were actually only 19 days into the year and blame Granny & Grandpa, as this was the day [53 years ago] that she was born. Pretty much everyone invited showed up, brought food and alcohol, and a great time was had by all. All counted there were +50 people there and Momma was surprised when the cars kept coming down the lane and people kept pouring into the house. Regardless of the mud--and JeannieBel's prediction--the floor stayed pretty clean. Although it's stained concrete, so cleaning was a snap! The low moment came when we discovered it was also Larry's birthday and Teresa decided to add his name to Mom's German Chocolate Cake...in ketchup. Yep [and yuck!] you read that right! Since the icing was dark, nothing else showed up....aside from maybe mustard so ketchup seemed the less of two evils. Strangely no one wanted those pieces of cake and Teresa hadn't had that much to drink at that point!! While there were a few that left early, most everyone left around 11:30pm--which was a further indication about how successful it was!

Happy Birthday Momma!
:I sheshie

The Dawning of the Sign of Aquarius

Okay, depending on which astrological chart you're looking at we're enter the sign of Aquarius at any moment now...why am I mentioning this? just to wish

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS to Momma & April!!!! :)

:I shez

Agoraphobics & Snow-Ins Rejoice!

Did you know amazon.com has everything? literally everything. 36 categories--I'm shocked, I'm amazed, really I'm in awe! This is what you can get if you go to www.amazon.com RIGHT NOW:

Books, Music, DVD, Unbox Video Downloads [what the?], VHS, Magazines & Newspapers, Compture & Video Games, Software, Amazon Shorts [again, what the?], Electronics, Audio & Video, Camera & Photo, Cell Phones & Service, Computers & PC Hardware, Office Products, Musical Instruments, Outlet [watch out Tanger & Prime!], Home & Garden, Bed & Bath [but not Beyond], Furniture & Decor, Gourmet Food, Kitchen & Housewares, Outdoor Living, Pet Supplies, Automotive, Tools & Hardware, Industrial & Scientific, Apparel & Accessories, Shoes, Jewelry & Watches, Grocery, Beauty, Health & Personal Care, Sports & Outdoors, Toys & Games, Baby....whew! I think that may be it....

Groceries???? when did this all happen? what happened to just books, movies, music?????? but for those of you who don't want to get out, can't get out, or are "above" going to the SuperWalMart, but need tampons, motor oil, a new cell phone, and a flute--go to amazon.com and what the heck--get the lastest book in Oprah's bookclub....

okay, i have to go--i need to see what kind of groceries and gourmet foods amazon can provide me. plus I can just add it to my wishlist [sjerrij@gmail.com in case you were wondering how to access my wishlist! :D] YAY!! this is going to be fun, albeit strange....

:I shez

ps--for those of you like Sheila who want to know: yes, there are condoms available--3 pages of any shape, size, or preference you might want!!

Slip Sliding Away!

Yes, I braved the elements to bring you this hilarious update about the weather....

walking Stella is freakin' hilarious!! firstly, i'm walking on the grass, which is covered in ice and crunching beneath my feet. The dog HATES walking on the grass with the ice crunching beneath her feet, so she chooses to walk on the sidewalk or street. Since she can't get much traction, so looks more like she's skating rather than walking, but the funniest is when she sees a bird, cat, deer, chihuahua [she thinks they're funny, noisy cats with strange hair], she wants to run after it, but she slips and slides and with her long legs flailing about is just damn funny. Of course, this usually happens right about the time that I've run out of grass and have ventured on the ice-covered street. So not only am I laughing out loud, but trying my best not to slip and slide and end up on my backside.

This is my patio fence--which accumulated about 2 inches of snow....

Since it's not raining, icing, sleeting, and snowing today [which it did ALL day yesterday], I decided to take her for a longer walk this morning. We hit a bit of an decline, which you tend not to notice when the street is not covered with a sheet of ice and we essentially slid one complete block--it was fun while it lasted....but truth be told, I was happy to make it down without falling on my keister!! We stopped in at Teresa's--who had warm coffee for me and a big backyard for Stella--so she got even more exercise galloping from one end of the yard to the other [yes, the dog is big enough to gallop!]--so she was happily dozing in a ball on the couch when I left her...

tomorrow brings slightly warmer weather--hopefully enough to melt all the ice and the weekend we're back into the 60's but still wet and yucky [gotta love Texas weather]

:I shez

BRRRRRRRR!!!

Not that in the grand scheme of things is it really cold here, but it's the coldest it's been so far this winter. Plus because there is a winter weather advisory in effect until thursday, everything has pretty much shut down and the shelves at HEB [the local grocery store] are looking pretty bare. Of course, everyone north of here is no doubt laughing at us. But I do have to say that when it gets icy, the roads here are a mess, topped with the fact that NO ONE is capable of safely driving--as they think that their 4WD is going to help them not skid on the ice!!

There's not a lot to report--I've come into work to do a bit of paperwork, but as no one is voluntarily out in this mess, I'm going home to watch movies and snuggle with Stella, who is annoyed because our walks have be dramatically cut to "would you hurry up, it's freaking too cold to be walking 45 minutes", so a quick walk around the block and we're back inside!

For those in colder regions--stay warm! For those in warmer regions--enjoy!!

bye fffffor now!!
:I shez

Gluttonous Gluten

Okay, so I haven't been feeling great of late [I'm sure many of you are sick--ha ha pun intended--of hearing me complain about being sick!]. Since they [being my doctor] can't seem to explain why I'm feeling tired and run-down and bloated and a general feeling of blah--phyically, not so mentally, I decided that perhaps it's my diet. I'm sick of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesause, and toast)--which I lived on for about 2 weeks after I got out of the hospital, but is the most pleasing to upset stomaches. I've decided not to cut my diet that dramatically and went to the local health store and got on-line to figure out where to start. It was suggested to me that the most common--and often least diagnosed--food problem was wheat. So, I'm going to cut out wheat and all wheat products for the next several weeks and see if it helps. Fad diet--nope, but worse case senario, I'll be a bit healthier without all that refined flour in my body and hopefully, I'll have a bit more get-up-and-go, so that I can get up and go and not feel like a sloth, catching zzzz's every opportunity I can get. Best case senario, I'll feel better and look better and maybe even drop a few pounds!! fingers crossed!!
:I shez
ps--YAY! winter weather is finally coming. I know, I know you all probably think I'm nuts, but I'm excited! I love the cold, crisp weather!! :) oh and I'm babysitting tomorrow!! perhaps, I'll make them help me clean out boxes....

Pris-Stella

Yay! Inventory wasn't as bad as originally thought! We were done by 2pm and that included a small lunch break for pizza. Of course, we had special help from Landri because, unbeknownst to her mother until they arrived and everything was locked up, pre-school was closed on the 2nd. Landri's job was moving empty boxes, so as to block the back door [yes, I said to block] and keeping everyone entertained with "hey, sheshie....hey sheshie....hey sheshie" Apparently my niece has inherited my gift of gab....

After that we made a few stops and then went to pick Stella up from "school" as Landri referred to doggie day care. However, Aunt Priscilla OBVIOUSLY made an impression during Christmas because rather than saying "Stella," Lala kept calling her "Pris-Stella." Hey Pris-Stella. Hey Sheshie Pris-Stella really likes me. Hey Pris-Stella, do you want a treat? Pris-Stella how was school? It was all I could do not to laugh. My brother couldn't contain his laughter as Landri was telling him about how she & Pris-Stella played all afternoon and how Pris-Stella didn't eat her snack [although I know that Pris-Stella doesn't like carrots...although I don't know how the cheese stick survived!]

Pris-Stella was so worn out by Landri, I actually had to cajole her into going for her evening walk! Perhaps Landri needs to come over a bit more often!

:] shez

HAPPP PPYYY NEW YEAR!!

Okay, so NYE sucked. Like huge. It was insane crazy busy at Cuvee and the kitchen was horribly backed up and it was 1:30 when we finally finished cleaning up--we even had regulars asking if they could help us--that's how freaking sorry they felt for us!

But we did dress in black with black top hats and bow ties, so I must admit even though we were running around like chickens with our heads just cut off, we looked damn cute doing it!

I hope that everyone had a great NYE and I've decided that I'm now on a mission to find a job that doesn't require working NYE. Last year was great. This year: sucked big time....

But everything was rectified on the 1st, as we went to brunch and all chipped in for Dom. There's nothing like starting the new year with eggs benedict and Dom Perignon. Of course, that's just my humble opinion! I had all these plans for cleaning/organizing my house for the new year [one of my resolutions], but my tired, aching body prevailed and I lounged on the couch all day watching the CSI:Miami marathon on A&E...although I did at some point take Stellabella for a walk and made a big o' pot of black eyed peas for a prosperous new year. And I'm hoping at this point the more b.e.p. you eat, the more prosperous you are because well, it's just me and I have a big o' pot of b.e.p.....

So, here are my resolutions for the new year:
1. Get healthier [which I've already been trying to do]
2. Get my house more organized [I don't know what the hell happened, but my closets are suddenly GREAT examples for the chaos theory]
3. MOVE. not that I don't like living here, i'm actually enjoying it right now, but it's time for a new adventure.
4. Be better about blogging and corresponding with everyone on a regular--rather than sporadic--basis
5. Be debt free!! [which would have happended last year, until I took a three day vacation in the hospital last july...]
6. Volunteer more--as in, not just Rotary but other places as well....

so that's it. that's the plan for the new year. :) must go....today is inventory day. happy, happy, joy, joy....NOT!

Happy New Year!
:] shez

ps--in case you're wondering, while I AM getting used to them and people are actually commenting that they think I look cute [bleh!], I still hate my braces--although I am seeing changes in my teeth...so perhaps I won't need them on as long as the Dr. thinks!! fingers crossed!

A Christmas Carol from a Different Point of View

[as sung to O Holy Night, my favorite Christmas song]

O Holy Crap
I really hate my bray-ces
I'd like to rip the-em offff of my teeth....

But I paid a lot and lot of money
And so far, I've lost 6 pounds

Food gets suck
and now I lo-ok sev-ven

My jaw really hurts and
my inner cheeks are calloused

Oooooooh my lips are swollen.
They look so very sexy,
But if someone tries to kiss me,
I'd probably punch him in the face...

Oh crap....these braces hurt...but at least it's not dentures....



thank you....thank you very much....obviously I've had a bit too much pain medication...or perhaps not enough!

Happy Holidays everybody!!
:I shez

Brace-Face

Yes, it's true, it's true. sigh. I have to have braces. urgh. This is me being excited about having braces: [yawn!] I know, I know you actually came here to read all about the cowboys game, but I am tooooo exhausted for that.....but let me tell you it was SOOOOOOOO worth feeling this exhausted [to quote a friend--I'm to old for this shit!] to start the busiest shopping weekend off with a sleep deficit. FABULOUS. WONDERFUL. LOVED IT. There will be more details tomorrow--you know, when forming sentences isn't such as task.

So back to braces. urgh. I went to my dentist for a cleaning when she noticed my back bottom molars--particularly on my left side--were loose. Not decaying or disease-ridden loose, but gums pulling away from my teeth loose. I have ALWAYS known my teeth were crooked--no, not my teeth so much as my jaws, but thinking that breaking and realigning was the only solution, I've been perfectly happy with misaligned jaws and teeth. Little did I know that the friction of misaligned teeth were causing so much movement in my molars that the gums around them were loosening. She suggested perhaps seeing an ortho for a consultation, but warned that probably my most viable options were breaking and realigning my jaw or waiting until all my teeth fell out and getting dentures. [okay, THANKS for the optimism!?!?!?!?!] so I called the orthro she recommended and his scheduler tells me that he offers free consultations. Make an appointment. Dazzled him with my knowledge of teeth, given that I worked at Texas Wines Etc. and then confessed my study of physical anthropology...but in the end he decided that braces were the way to go and didn't even contemplate me for surgery. I COULD'VE KISSED THE MAN! but i restrained....and now have to have braces....

:I shez

Nutso Crazy Day!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! IT'S TWO DAYS UNTIL THE GAME!!

and consequently 3 days until the busiest shopping day of the year...the store is SO NOT ready. Actually, it's pretty much ready, but it's not perfect, so as far as I'm concerned--IT'S SO NOT READY. Plus UPS has this "thing" to try and bring me as many boxes as humanly possible in the fewest amount of days. Even Tom asked if the boxes were multiplying! I swear they have cameras in the back room and as soon as there's a spot on the floor DING-DONG! there's UPS with [shock!] more boxes! Fed-Ex. I like Fed-Ex--they come, they PICK UP boxes, they leave. I like Fed-Ex [take note, it's probably the only time i'll ever admit this!]

on a very sad note, one of my friend's mom passed away last week...so just an aside to everyone reading this holiday--give your mom [or dad or brother or sister-in-law] a hug and let them know that you love them. meanwhile, my dear friend, my thoughts are with you and your family--i love you.

Also take time to give to food shelters, toys 4 tots, and coat drives this winter....as the St. Jude's commercial relays: be thankful for what you have and give to those less fortunate than you.

Alright, back to the nutso-craziness of the store! And don't be offended if you can't get a hold of me this weekend--I'll be running around like a chicken with it's head cut off!

Happy Turkey Day and GO COWBOYS GO!

gobble. gobble. shez

Counting Down!

Okay, it's ONE WEEK to THE COWBOYS [vs. tampa bay] GAME [or Thanksgiving to the rest of you]!!!!! By this time next week, Jen, Sheila, David, Matt and I will be tailgating at Texas Stadium--consuming smoked turkey legs and in lieu of rolls, shiner bock [what?!?! they both have yeast in them--and rather than worry about how to keep the rolls warm or eating cold rolls, we can just put the sb on ice when we leave Fredericksburg and ba-da-bing! it's ready by the time we get to dallas!] quite ingenious planning, if you ask me!

gobble, gobble--Happy Turkey Day everybody!
:) shez

I LOST MY CAR!

Yay! Car is fixed!! So I'm running errands, as I had Monday off, and one of my stops is HEB for a few groceries. Get my groceries and actually leave HEB in record time, don't need a cart for my few, but somewhat heavy groceries, I'm fine. Walk out into the parking lot, to the exact spot where I left my car....and it's gone. gone. holy %$&#^ it's gone!! okay don't panic--perhaps I parked one aisle over--even though I knew I hadn't! I never lose my car---ever. ever. EVER! I actually went to the basket return bin and grabbed a basket to put my few but heavy groceries in, so that I could walk around and think. I cannot believe that I just got the freakin' thing fixed and now it's gone. think. think. I AM THE PERSON THAT REMEMBERS FLAWLESSLY WHERE WE PARK THE CAR AT ALL AMUSEMENT PARKS, SHOPPING CENTERS, AND SPORTING EVENTS. i did NOT just lose my car. This CANNOT be happening to me? What the hell is the number for the police station, because I'm telling you--I know EXACTLY where I parked and my car is gone!

OKAY, so maybe it's not gone....maybe it is [okay, no maybe about it--it is] parked about 5 or 6 parking spaces further down and my little Ford Escort is safely nestled in between two big-ass SUV's....damn big-ass SUV's giving me a heartattack!!

sigh....that was my drama for the day
:) shez

Urgh....cars!

Guess what? Because my life just cannot be drama free--my car isn't starting. I'm hoping beyond hope that it's the battery, but I'm pretty sure it's probably the alternator or starter. How do I know? Because it's me--and I assure you that of all the plausible options that could be wrong, it'll be the most expensive!

All I'm saying is that it BETTER not interfere with my money to see the Cowboys....of course, tickets have already been purchased, but there's parking, hotels, beer, and tailgating food to think about!! otherwise, I might have to borrow Teresa's bike for awhile!!

grrrrr....

Kevin's on his way to give his two cents, in the meantime I'm relying on Teresa, David, Jen, Sheila, & Mom for transport. It's only been ONE day and I'm already going nuts [okay, nuttier than normal]--I HATE BEING WITHOUT WHEELS or at least in a city with PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION! I mean, I never had a car while living in Canberra, but there was a reliable--albeit somewhat tedius--bus system.

ROCK THE VOTE!

Happy Election Tuesday everybody in the USA! Don't forget to go vote!

Happy Melbourne Cup Day everybody in Australia! Don't forget to bet on the 8th race!

Happy Birthday Nerida! Don't forget to have a drink or two!

Just as an aside for those voting in Texas: where did all the libetarians come from?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Geez, there were quite a few races where there weren't even any Democrats--just Republicans and Libs! Well, here's hoping that by the end of the day we here in Texas have a new Governor. Now there's NO doubt the new governor cannot match The Good Hair Governor's hairdo, but I think we Texans can overlook it! Additionally, it has to be some kind of record--5 gubernatorial candidates PLUS I had a note in my voting booth about 1 write-in canidate. This is craziness at it's political finest!

God Bless the American voting system!
NOW GO VOTE!!

:) shez

Freeze Frame!

Just got my halloween pictures back and these are too cute NOT to post!!

Grrr....Lala the Cat

Esmeralda [Malory] and The Great Magician [Baylor]--hiding behind his Batman candy bag

The Silly Wicked Witch [Morgan] with a better shot of The Great Magician

Arrrrrrrrr! The Dreaded Pirate Andon

The Fairy Princess [Ashlyn]

Sweet baby Reese--looking like a pumpkin--napped through it all!

and finally: Teletubby David at my birthday party...perhaps he should have considered it for a halloween costume!

C'mon David, you know I love you!!!

:) shez

I LOVE FALL!

I LOVE FALL...it's probably my favorite season [and I'm not just saying that because it's my birthday!] It's the cool crisp mornings and evenings, the not insanely hot days, football and basketball season, you know....the little things like that! Unfortunately, it doesn't last long in this part of Texas.... :(

The best is sitting out in the crisp morning air drinking my coffee....meanwhile my slothful dog has patiently waited until I got up so that she can comfortably park herself IN THE MIDDLE OF MY BED!

At least she's good about letting me sleep in the mornings!

Happy Fall Ya'll!

:) shez

PS--haven't accomplished much with the Christmas decorating...but still drinking eggnog, listening to Christmas music to motivate me.....

The Holidays are Coming, The Holidays are Coming!

Ahhh....November 1st. The first day I will actually put up Christmas decorations in the wine store. Neverminding the fact that EVERY OTHER store on Main Street already has their Christmas stuff up and displayed proudly in their front windows. I refuse. I hate that I have to completely skip over Thanksgiving--another fabulous holiday in order for the more commercialized Christmas. Not that I don't love Christmas....it's just the retail side of putting out Christmas items and decorating in September/October is ridiculous. Fortunately Tom agrees and while we do put out some Christmas gift items in the back of the store for those early shoppers, no trees, tinsel, or lights can come out until November 1st. YAY! I love Tom!! But here it is November 1st and so up and down the ladder I go, getting out all Christmas decorations. It's a nice day for it--cool and crisp outside....and I've even put on a bit of Christmas music and am drinking a bit of eggnog to get me in the Christmas decorating spirit!

Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra!

:) shez

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everybody!!

I love Halloween--it's probably my favorite holiday, even if there's a push to do away with dressing up and celebrating. Phooey on them I say! [and I say it dressed as an archangel! muwahahahahaha!] Sheila found these cool black wings and so I decided to use them in a fun frivolous manner--I'm in all black...okay with a bit of my red bra showing and additionally, I went across the street to the FunShoppe and had Shannon, The Fabulous, paint my face with silver and black and sparklies so as to match my wings!

Well, I should be off...I have a few trick-or-treaters stopping by soon and then I'm headed off to Teresa's to help them hand out candy!!

Happy Haunting!
:) shez

Stelllll-LA!

Happy Birthday to Me! Happy Birthday to Me!!

Well, I found her. My baby. I named her Stella. I adopted her from PawMatch, which is an Austin based company that takes puppies out of the pound and to pet shops such as PetSmart or PetCo in the hopes that more exposure will get them adopted [as opposed to the other :( option].

April & I were in San Antonio, visiting the Alamo and Riverwalk area and we had a bit of time and I had mentioned earlier that I wanted to stop at PetSmart on the way home to see if they had any puppies out for adoption....and the rest, as they say, is history.

We saw her tied up outside the pens....I was actually looking at a lab/border collie puppy who was sleeping, when April asked about Stella [whom they had just named Leona--bleh...what kind of name is that?!?!?]. They said she was found wandering the streets of San Antonio. She had on a cheap reflective collar, but no tags or anything, which suggested that someone let this sweet, wonderful dog loose without any care or concern about her well-being!! [errr...don't get me started on that soapbox!] breathe, breathe, breathe...

okay, so she was sooooo sad and soooooo lifeless--even when we went over and sat down and talked and petted her. It was as if she didn't want to get to know us or get excited about us being there because she knew we were going to leave without her. That's when I decided that she needed to come home with me! April [the magnificently kind hearted and patron saint of homeless puppies!] loaned me a bit of moo-la so that I could adopt her plus get all of her basic supplies because she knew that we couldn't leave her there either. I thought the PawMatch guy was going to cry when I told him I wanted to adopt her! [heck, I thought I might cry!!] But I asked if I could rename her--and he said that Leona was just a name his mother picked out for her because they had no idea what her name was. I mentioned that she looked like a Stella to me and he agreed and said that actually that's what he wanted to name her [of course, I believed him, because, well, I wanted to and it was like another sign that this was the right thing to do!]

I signed 145 different documents saying that I would love and cherish and honor her and that I wasn't going to hurt, dismember, sacrifice, or dispose of her [how freaking revolting is that?!?!? those people should be shot just like the people who let her go!] and that sometimes it doesn't work out and that's okay, but that I'm to bring her back to PawMatch rather than take her elsewhere [which I thought was pretty darn cool of them, but of course, by document #1 I'm in it for the long haul!]

Of course, we got rid of the ridulous neon peach plastic collar and choose a new RED collar [and of course matching harness and leash!], a Stella dog tag, food, treats, chews, a bouncing ball--which she'll chase, but not bring back--and Mr. Moose, her squeaky toy which she loves when I squeak, but usually uses him as a pillow.

I thought she was a hound dog--as she looks like a petite, but far less slobbery bloodhound. Turns out she is a Catahoula Leopard....or, as her official name is a Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog and she is a cattle dog. But I'm telling you she has those saaaaad brown hound eyes, so maybe she has a bit o' hound dog in her as well....

She is very well behaved and doesn't bark a lot nor jump on furniture--except, as I found out this morning when the garbage truck drives past. In which case, she runs straight into my bedroom, jumps on the bed, and shoves her head under the covers. Even though I know she's scared, I can't help but laugh, 'cuz it was damn funny!!

:) shez

Conspiracy Theories

Monday morning: got up, finished packing, finished couple of items at work, and headed to airport in Austin. YES AUSTIN. There was a bit of confusion about time and place of departure to fly to DFW to meet April. I think it was because I was looking at two different flights [one at 1pm out of Austin and one at 12pm out of San Antonio]...or it's because I flaked out [also a viable option!].

ANYWAY, we got there....and surprise, surprise--shockingly and amazingly enough I made it through the lines [god bless curbside check-in!] and the security check point without any hassles or dramas. It was as if it was not me travelling!

A quick--and I mean quick--flight later I'm touching down at DFW. And I have to say I don't think I've ever gotten out at DFW....it was a very strange feeling indeed!! Made it to baggage claim and there she is--APRIL!!--who hugs me and almost immediately hands over the keys to Sheldon, her new Saturn Vue. We grab my bag and head for downtown Dallas, the WestEnd, and of course, The Grassy Knoll. The Grassy Knoll is full of people, looking, pointing, discussing various theories. I buy April a $5 "original" paper of the "incident" and we wander around for awhile until you can't hear the traffic over the rumbling of my tummy. So we head to Spaghetti Warehouse....where we stuffed ourselves silly on pasta, fish, and spinach artichoke dip.

Feeling better [and full] we walked around a bit....and then it hit me: really, most of what I like to do in the Metroplex is in Fort Worth, which April had already seen and done. Cowboy tickets were sold out and April, still traumatized by the moved of her beloved Minnesota North Stars to Dallas, refused to entertain the notion of attempting to get hockey tickets.

April mentioned wanting to see the Dr. Pepper Factory and thinking we had time, we hopped in Sheldon and headed south to Waco....

:) shez

Holy &$*&%*% I'm Old!

Well NO WONDER I feel tired. According to my profile, I am 249 years old. eh?!?!?!?!?!? I'm not quite sure how that happened but according to my blogger profile, I was born 27 October 1757. whaaahappen?!?!?!?!?!? I clicked on my profile contemplating a question change [click on my profile to see the answer to the current question] when I noticed that it said I was 249. It didn't quite register until I saw that I was born in the Year of the Rat. Um, I don't think so!! I am a Tiger--in fact, I AM A SCORPIO BORN IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER!!

okay, how sad is it that in order for my brain to process that I'm in fact NOT 249 years old, I have to notice that the Chinese year I'm born in is wrong. Did I mention being mentally exhausted as well?!?!?!?

my advice: if you have a blog, you might want to check your profile occassionally.....otherwise you might find yourself quite a bit older than you thought. on a positive note, anti-aging skin care companies might be willing to pay you big bucks to say that it's their cream keeping a 249 year old woman looking 30-ish!

:) shez

ps--yes, I've changed it back. I don't like being 249, it's exhausting!!!! :)

Busy Busy Bee

Given that it's Sunday [last day before vacation] and I'm the QUEEN of Procrastination.....I'm running around today like a chicken with it's head just chopped off. I know, not a pleasing mental picture, but there you go. Although in my defense, I've been working both jobs all week [although not in my defense a lot of it could have/should have been done sooner--ie. unpacking boxes from the ranch!]. Additionally, work was insanely busy last night and Jen & I spent most of it running upstairs and downstairs and upstairs and downstairs and I took over Sheila's section because she had a HUGE party in the Attic and Jen took over part of my section to help even out the load. Needless to say [but I'm saying it anyway] we were exhausted! So, even though I do have lots to do--both at home & work before I depart tomorrow morning, physically my body isn't letting me accomplish things very quickly. Although given how tired my legs and feet are [not to mention most of the rest of me], I think I'm making steady progress! And of course taking mini-breaks here and there [like making the time to blog!! :D]

Ahhhh well, tomorrow I'll grab a quick nap on the plane to Dallas and after that, I'll be too excited to worry about little things like exhaustion!!

:) shez

T.G.I.F.

JUST FYI I'M BITCHY AND CRABBY AND GROUCHY AND ANNOYED WITH EVERY FREAKING THING....ESPECIALLY FEDEX, SNOBBY CUSTOMERS, STUPID DELIVERY MEN, COMPUTERIZED SALES CALLS, AND FEDEX [yes, I meant to say fedex twice...really about it needs to be about 7 times!]

whew! deep breath, deep breath...you know, TGIF hasn't really applied to me in a loooooooong time--except when it came to eating out!!--since my working days are Thursday through Monday. But I'm so excited it's Friday. First of all, one week to go until the BIG 3-2! I'm sure it sounds strange, but I'm excited to be 32. I like being in my thirties...and no, it's not because there's nothing I can do about it. My life is so different than I ever thought it would be and that is a very good thing. I'll ramble about that later. The second reason is April is on her way. She's currently in Oklahoma [don't worry, I've cautioned her about being wary of Okies] and it's only 2 more days until I fly up to Dallas to meet her and have a FULL week off! Of course, I'm working both jobs and my house is a complete and utter wreck [yyyyyeeesssss, I still have unpacked boxes from the ranch!] but I have assured her a clean bathroom and clean sheets, which is already done. Heck, I might even have time to vaccum! Although, April if you're reading this--don't hold your breath!! Did I mention clean bathroom and sheets?!?!?!? Oh yeah, and the kitchen's clean. There's no food in the fridge, but I think there's some ice cream in the freezer....great [sigh] add shopping to the plethora of things that must be done before Monday at 10am [time David's picking me up to take me to the airport!]. Alright must go--doorbell just rang...hmmm....will it be annoying fedex, annoying delivery man, or annoying snobby customers?!?!? doh! just the mailman...he's nice!

:) shez

Lincoln Town Cars

Okay, I know why mobsters like Lincoln town cars---good lord, they have HUGE trunks. You know, for hauling plants and baseball equipment and stuff like that! :D

How do I know you ask, since I have a tiny little Ford Escort? Well, I was actually being nice [shocking, I know!] and helping this little old couple who drove down from Oklahoma for a case of wine [on a side note, I also handed them a business card and let them know I could ship to OK]. I walked it out for them, she opened the trunk--and holy cow 2 BODIES could fit in there! Of course, I'm just speculating...hey, wait a minute....he did mention he was originally from New Jersey...I guess it's a good thing I decided today to be nice!! :)

On another note: APRIL IS COMING, APRIL IS COMING!! But unlike the British, I don't think she has plans of taking over Texas and taxing our boots off! Of course, I could be wrong. But she's leaving tomorrow and driving down here, first to visit her aunt & uncle in Arlington and then Monday I'm flying to Dallas and then ambling down to Fredericksburg, as I think this is her first tour of the Texas Hill Country. On another side note, right now in Minnesota there's like 2 feet of snow on the ground. I told her to pack shorts!!

:)shez

Cats & Dogs

Just a quick update on Samson....unfortunately, he has not returned home. :(

So I've closed the back door and emptied the litter box and boxed up all his toys. I still keep a food bowl outside, but what else am I going to do with a new bag of kitten food?!?!? It made me very sad, but I'd like to think that he's been adopted by some family who is loving and spoiling him....and that he occasionally resents being locked up in a house all day and....gives them rather sharp love bites. what?!?!? I want him to be happy and cozy and loved, but he had that with me...sniff, sniff.

so I've decided that my birthday present this year will be a puppy--and by puppy, I mean that of the canine persuasion, which will be adopted from the SPCA or other animal rescue place. I like cats, and I LOVED Sampson [obviously, I'm heart-broken about his departure] but dogs are friendly, dogs are loyal, dogs just don't run away and decide to adopt other families! Okay, so they occasionally go on unauthorized field trips, but they are excited when you find them [unless you're Dakota, who thought humans running after her along of Amarillo's busiest streets was a huge, fun game]. I like the independence of cats, they're easy--keep 'em fed, watered, and the litter box clean and you're good to go. Going out of town? Have a friend pop in and check to see that they are fed, watered, and the litter box is clean. No puppysitters, no kennel fees, no waking up at 5am every morning for a walk. Of course, I have to admit that Samson was the perfect dog-lovers cat. He talked [ALL THE TIME], he greeted me at the door, he laid on the bathroom mat waiting for me to get out of the shower, he liked being petted and cuddling on the couch...he will definitely be missed.

:( shez

You Say It's Your Birthday....

Okay, umm...I've been sick. Not "sick and tired"--although being sick has made me tired. But I missed Landri's birthday party. Apparently, it was fabulous, as all 4 year old birthday parties are. And apparently by not being there, I missed out on more than just cake!

First of all, my Mother. My dearest darling lovely Mother was running late, mainly because allllllllll I wanted was some apple juice. And so Mom went to the store to get me apple juice. Now normally it takes 5 minutes...maybe 8 if you hit all the lights...to get from the store to my house. But it wasn't a normal weekend. In addition to being Lala's birthday, it was also Oktoberfest [prosit!] weekend. So rather than taking 5...maybe 8...minutes, it took Mom 20 minutes to bring me apple juice. For which I am eternally grateful. And made Mom late, as now she only had less than 2 hours to go home, decorate a My Little Pony cake, get dressed, and get to the birthday party--which was in Stonewall--only 15 minutes from Fredericksburg, but of course, Mom lives 20 minutes in the other direction. So what does she do? Speed. And what happens? She got pulled over. For the first time in her life since she was 16! And of course, when you are in a hurry and are speeding, cops seem to know this and amble up to your car window as slow as molasses. FINALLY he reaches the window--where upon my Mother, thrusting her license and registration into his hand says "Yes, I was speeding. Fine, give me a ticket, but hurry up because I'm late to my granddaughter's birthday party and I have the cake!" She then rolls down the back window and shows him the cake. Of course, this doesn't sway him to just give her a warning, but he did move a bit faster while issuing the ticket!

Second, my Mom gives Lala a Rody, which is an Italian blow up horse--think cute horse shaped bouncing ball. But it has to be blown up, right....so where is the spout? yep, you guessed it--right below the tail. Which poor Uncle Joe discovered when Lala asked him to blow it up. I believe Lauren mentioned something about incriminating photos.....

Of course, Lala's birthday isn't the only one, so here's a BIG FAT HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes to:

Landri, Oct 7th
Woody, Oct 8th
Kerry, Oct 8th
Auntie P, Oct 10th
Matt, Oct 10th
Kat, Oct 15th
Lauren, Oct 16th
Ben, Oct 16th
Amber, Oct 17th
Kevin, Oct 21st

whew! I think that's it....well, except for mine :) which of course, celebrating will begin very soon!!

prosit and a Happy Oktoberfest!
:) shez

MIA

I forgot to mention my sad news:

Samson has gone MIA. I'd like to think that he's just out having a grand ol' time, catting around [yes, pun intended!], but given the horror stories of cat abuse in the last few months it's hard not to panic when thinking about my baby out there all on his own. So far, the roads, the dumpsters, the pound, and the SPCA have not come across him. I'm keeping my fingers crossed [and his food bowl filled--just in case]. If you live here in town, I'd appreciate you keeping an eye out for him....and no Len, I don't need a replacement kitten just yet!

:( shez

Best Feeling in the World!!

ahhhhh....I think taking out your toe separators after painting your toes is one of the best feelings in the world.....it's such a release! Presuming this works, you are now viewing my freshly painted tootsies! In Yankee Blue, I might add [for those of you who are watching the baseball play-offs!]!!

No, I haven't been doing much posting, I've been trying to making some improvements, additions, and enhancements....which of course, I SUCK at doing. So I've enlisted the help of Super-Becca, who is helping with my everything--okay, so basically, I'm just turning it ALL over to Becca because a) she got me into this and b) she's wonderful, fabulous, magnificent, remarkable, extraordinary and everything else that's nice and kind to say about her so that she keeps helping!! :)

okay, so back to my toes and the release of pulling out toe separators--what feels good, relaxing and releasing to you? [ASIDE FROM THE OBVIOUS!!!!] just curious!

have a great day!
:)shez

ps--check out Becca's blog at www.ewedevil.com

Birthday Week!

This is definitely the week of birthdays!! Sorry, rather than blogging each individual birthday [because we aaaaaallllll know that's NOT going to happen!], this is my official birthday wishes to all of you--don't panic! I won't divulge your ages!! :)

Christi, 23rd
Wendy, 24th
Malory, 25th
Becca, 26th
Chelle, 30th
Emily, 30th

If I may have forgotten you, I apologize, but OBVIOUSLY I am unaware that you are aging!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!!!

:)shez

The Bluegrass State....

Okay, so for those of you unaware, Christi has moved to Kentucky. Elizabethtown [yes, like the movie]....my visit out there was sooooo fun!! I did----NOTHING!! it was great, it was fabulous, i loved every minute. Although a bit of advice for those of you wanting to visit friends/family who have just moved and want to do tourist-y things....give them a bit of acclamation time to find the best spots. Our best spots were the Jim Beam and Makers Mark distilleries, both about 20minutes from Christi and Tracy's house. Of course, just a travel advisory for visiting Kentucky in September--it rains....a lot! Especially when you want to tour [outdoors] a bourbon distillery. So needless to say, I'll have to save those tours for my next trip out. We did find a restaurant [Tumbleweeds] that serves Shiner Bock and the movie theater is a barn. Seriously, you laugh...but it was a barn!! They live right by a little lake [I probably would call it a pond, but anyone from Minnesota would definitely call it a lake! HA!]. Shockingly, they live in a DRY COUNTY. Can you believe it, C&T moved willingly to a DRY COUNTY?!?!?!? Fortunately, the drive to the county line [and thus alcohol] didn't take long and is beautiful.

Kentucky is a BEAUTIFUL state! It was hilly and green and gorgeous! And I have to admit there were more people that wore shoes and didn't drink moonshine than expected....although, I was informed that you have to go further east to experience that! Louisville--properly pronounce ONLY if you are either a native Kentuckian OR if you have marbles in your mouth--was a quaint and quiet big city. I enjoyed it, even though we didn't spend a lot of time there. There is, however, a waitress there that will never forget us, as Christi hit her with Tracy's spunky monkey. It's a toy from The Spunky Monkey Store here in Fredericksburg, which is a monkey sling shot that screams as it's flying through the air! I bought it for Tracy and gave it to him at the sports bar & grill we stopped in to watch some FOOTBALL. Christi, while checking it out, accidentally let it go and bam! hits the waitress, scaring the crap out of her. Of course, Christi immediately melts under the table, leaving Tracy and I to explain!

Thanks guys for a wonderful vacation!! I LOVED IT!!

:)shez

Happy Birth Day Reesie-Roo!

EXCITING NEWS!!!!

I have a new baby! She's stubborn--just like her Sheshie! Mom was induced on Tuesday, August 29th. But my beautiful stubborn niece decided that it was too warm and cozy to come out and didn't actually make an appearance until 7:00pm, September 01st. She's soooo beautiful. Of course, I'm biased, but I don't care!!

Here's to you Reese Layne Sagebiel!! Welcome to the world!! Love, Aunt Sheshie

Best of Both Worlds...

I love this groomswoman stuff!! I got all the fun of hanging with the boys....and all the perks of hanging with the girls! The next day [although not too early the next day] I got my rental car and then headed down to a luxury spa for manicures and pedicures with all the girls in the wedding party. It was sooooo much fun. You sit back and relax and have both done at once....which was a new experience for me. Everyone around me was getting french manicures and neutral colors, so I felt it my duty to get Big Apple Red! I mean afterall, my dress was black and subtlety was never my strong point, so why the hell not?!?!?

I checked in with Matt before heading to the spa--he wasn't so bueno, but was at least up and moving and saying "thank god we didn't have it the night before the wedding." well, duh! like we would have let him do that, knowing full well that at some point in the night, taking shots would be involved!!

I finished with my mani/pedi just in time to go back to the hotel, change, and head over to the venue for rehearsal dinner. It was short, it was sweet, and that's a great thing because dinner was next and I was starving! The rehearsal dinner was held at a Chinese restaurant--we sat at two round tables with a turntable in the middle and dishes magically appeared and we all shared everything. I need to get me one of those "food magically appearing" turntables!! Dinner ended fairly early and everyone pretty much wanted to head back "home." Fortunately Simon & I think alike and after getting back to the hotel headed to the bar for a couple of drinks before turning in early. OKAY here's another bad idea: you should never let a Texan and an Aussie go to the hotel bar for a few drinks. really, we were just going to stay for two. really. i promise. however, along came Juan. and Juan bought us drinks. Yes, us....both of us. So there we were sitting with two new beers....what to do, what to do??? Of course we accept them and spent the next 45 minutes [he sent over another round] debating/arguing about who he was actually buying the drinks for--me or Simon. [just FYI, the jury is still out!] Finally, we decide to go talk to them and the drinks kept flowing and flowing and flowing and somehow Juan managed to get us each 3 rounds of beer to go when the bar closed--so we went out to the patio [there were about 6 of us] and the next thing you know, it's 4am and breakfast with Matt is looking like it might just have to be lunch!

:) shez

Are You The Entertainment?

Shockingly enough, Delta got into San Jose 45 minutes early. Wow! Twice in one day....I'm quite sure that's never happened before. I call Matt to see how bachelor party is going and let him know that I'm getting my rental car and heading to the hotel. No, no, no.....they're leaving one bar, headed to another, so they'll just come pick me up in the limo. Okay, great. I can handle being picked up at the airport in a limo! I notify the rental car company that I'll be picking up the car in the morning [probably late morning], grab my luggage and head outside to wait. Next to me is this nice man who asked if I'd like him to hail a taxi for me. I thank him, but say that I actually have a limo coming to pick me up. "Ahhh....hotel?" he asks. "Nope. Bachelor party." He suddenly gets very quiet and then with a smile he asks "Are you the entertainment?" HA HA HA HA....giggle....I laugh because at this point--after this day--really that's all I can do. It wasn't long and the limo pulls up and out jumps Matthew--who is well on his way to having a smashing time!

We head to a local English pub and out come the pitchers of beer....in addition to Matt & Me, there is Paul [brother-in-law], Kevin [neighbor and groomsman], and Jackie [sister and wife of Paul], who was only going to stay for a bit, but she & I got on like a house on fire and she decided to stay on and party with the rest of us! In addition to quickly downing pitchers of beer and a late night snack and a few tunes on the jutebox and several [what is the definition of several?] toasts to Matt and Lil [aka bravewoman!], we were also waiting on Simon [best man] to arrive. Simon finally arrives, joins us for a few more pitchers of beer and then we head off to the next place. A bar--that I can't remember the name of--but one that Matt & Simon had spent a lot of time at in the past. That's when it got ugly....and the shots of tequila came out....with beer chasers of course! I'm not sure whoooooooo started this trend, but somehow [batting of the eyes] I got blamed! [ALRIGHT FINE, IT WAS ME, BUT I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR ONLY THE FIRST ROUND!!] The rest of the night was a bit of a blur, however, I do remember not being able to remember what hotel I was staying in, so Jackie kept calling Jack to get names and addresses and driving directions, as the limo driver wasn't able to locate it. All I have to say about the rest of the evening--in addition to the incrimating photos I have of both Matt & Kevin passed out in the limo--was that I'm thankful Simon was the best man and in charge of getting Matt back home to Lil!

:) shez

Bier Bitch

Travelling with me is never dull or boring. And this trip was no exception! I was headed to San Jose, California--where Matt & Lily [aka Groom & Bride] live and in honor of their upcoming nuptials--in which I was a groomswoman. Delta Airlines--in the true spirit of service decided that the quickest/shortest/best route to San Jose from San Antonio is via Salt Lake City. Utah. I have a 3.5 hour layover [again, thanks Delta] and so I get on a few websites to see if there's anything close by the airport--that's worth a taxi/train ride to kill a bit of time. I'm not exactly sure of what there was because on the SLC WEBSITE there is a link about "our [Utah's] liquor laws." great. NOTHING good can come of clicking on this link, but intruiged, I have to click. 3.2 beer. are you kidding me? this wouldn't be bad if the beer was cheaper--but it's not going to be because--hello--it's an airport! well, I was rather distraught by this and forgot about checking into local must-see things close to the airport.

As I'm boarding the plane, I remember that I never figured out what I was going to do while at SLC airport--oh well, I guess I'll drink a few 3.2 beers and catch up on my reading. The flight up was fine...until about 30 minutes outside of SLC, when it started raining [head to Texas dear rain, head to Texas!] then the plane rocked and dipped and dropped and every person on the plane was bracing the seat in front of them as we wobbled towards the runway. When we landed, the entire plane broke out in clapping and the flight attendant announced "whew! we made it!" The clapping stopped shortly after when we realized that it was raining quite hard on the ground and being in a baby plane--we would deplane on the tarmac and have to walk [in the rain] to the terminal. joy. FINALLY reach the terminal--not quite soaked, but wet enough to be freezing while in the terminal! now....where's 3.2 beer?!?!?!?

Ahhhh....Salt Lake City. For a bit of fun with the locals, I have discovered it's best to wear one's Auslander Bier Bitch t-shirt. [For those unaware, The Auslander is a restaurant/biergarten in Fredericksburg--directly across from the wine shop...you can check it out at www.theauslander.com]. The SLC locals there aren't sure where to divert their eyes once they've read your shirt...a few will smile--until they realize you're watching them and then a frown and eye diversion quickly follows! It's even better if you head out of the terminal [it had stopped raining by now] and walk through a nice group of people waiting on several Elders to return from missions. This would for most people send them straight to hell....as far as I'm concerned, if I'm not already going to hell, I doubt that this would be the deciding factor. I'm looking around outside, breathing in the mountain [and jetfuel] air when my tummy starts rumbling and I realize it's now 6pm Texas time and I haven't eaten since breakfast. So I head back in and go through the security check. Here's a bit of advice: if you are in the SLC airport and you are wearing your bier bitch t-shirt, and the security guard asks why you left the terminal, "to smell the fresh mountain air, of course" should not be your response. I had to do quite a bit of eyelash batting to keep from getting the "thorough search," although it would have killed a bit more time [did I mention that Delta actually got us there 30 minutes early--thus giving me 4 hours??]

I find a pub to eat at...and Holy Foreign Beer Batman! There's Stella Artois on the list. I order [because surely Stella would never succumb to 3.2 status]. I am informed that it has a high alcohol content. I inform that, no it has a normal alcohol content. She [being the waitress] opens her mouth to argue, notices my t-shirt, closes her mouth and walks away. I am then presented with a cool--not cold--Stella. I ask for a glass. It NEVER appears. I order. The food was the worst I've ever tasted. period. end of discussion. She NEVER asks about it [even though I sent away a full plate of food]. I leave a $1 tip. I have to say that as a waitress, I know there are times that it gets busy and you neglect your table and I've done it--it happens. But it wasn't busy. She wasn't busy and I NEVER GOT MY DAMN GLASS FOR MY STELLA! ahem....of course making it worse was a phone call I received from my father proclaiming that he got married.

SAYWHAT?!?!?!?!? Had I been able to find my waitress, I probably would have ordered 3 more high-alcohol beers, chased with 5 shots of liquor, and after that would have been a little more lax about my crappy service and food and she could have perhaps gotten $5. Needless to say [but I'm saying it anyway] I was shocked. And for the very first time in my life speechless. Yes me. Yes speechless.

Nothing makes time fly like crappy food, non-cold beer, and family drama...so soon I was saying adios! Salt Lake City and hola! San Jose...

:) shez

Super Samson!

Meet Samson. My Cat. Okay, Kitten. I saved him. Which I'm sure for many of you explains why I--Sherry Lynn, aka Sheshie, Shezza, Sher-bear, et al--have a cat, well, kitten. He is Siamese and extremely vocal, even for a Siamese. He very dog-like, at least for now, and doesn't like to be alone and even runs to the door to greet me when I get home. Dammit if he isn't cute. And cuddley and will stalk and attack you any chance he gets....unless of course he's curled up sleeping. Naming him was quite a chore, as anyone involved will tell you. Originally, it was going to be Oliver, but that didn't seem to suit him. So I did what any girl would do--enlist friends to help....nothing seemed to fit--and after a lengthy conversation with Becca about Sinatra [her psycho-cat-from-hell], I promised not to name him anything REMOTELY to do with Frank [even though secretly I liked the name Frankie]. More time went by and I was working on my Australia blogs and having just emailed several people in Australia, someone had mentioned drinking Milo [an Australian chocolate malt drink, you can check it out at http://www.nestle.com.au/milo/main.asp]. Perfect! That's what I was going to name him!! It's short, it's cute, he's short, he's cute and Attacks-with-Claws-and-Teeth seemed a bit long. Then it started happening....EVERYone EVERYwhere "ahhwwww....Milo. Like Milo and Otis! How cute!" WHAT?!?!?!??!!?!??!?!?!? Milo and what? Milo and Otis or to be more precise The Adventures of Milo & Otis. Milo the Cat and Otis the Dog. The movie plot from www.imdb.com reads "The adventures of a young cat and a dog as they find themselves accidentally separated and each swept into a hazardous trek. " Great. I cannot name my cat after some movie I've never seen and at this point now refuse to see. Milo--like the drink, I PROMISE!! Alas, resistance was futile and I couldn't handle being asked about it, so--while still calling him Milo--am pondering silently new names. And then it just came to me. Suddenly, one night while half watching tv/half playing with El Gato--Samson. I don't know--it just suddenly struck and stuck and the "where's Delilah?" comments aren't nearly as many as the "ahhwwww....Milo" comments. But he answers to Samson--as well as a Cat would answer a human being. And he's now sleeping [thankfully] through the night. I've bought several cat toys, which he loves, including a cube made of tent material that he rolls all over the house in...although stalking is still his game of choice [as poor David's feet can attest]...even though he hasn't quite mastered the art of skillfully waiting and tends to attack early with his front feet in the air [think more grizzly bear than prowling feline]. But I love him just the same!

:) shez

G'Bye!

The next day, the wedding party, immediate family, and I are invited to Penny's parents' house for lunch. It was a casual event and surprisingly--even though I had only just stopped drinking several hours before, I managed to down a couple of glasses of champagne, chased by a couple of glasses of shiraz.....mmmmmmm....i love champagne and shiraz. Oooohh, sparkling shiraz is also really nice...

ahem, I digress...

after lunch, we load up the cars and I drive back to Sydney with Penny (Michael & Oscar followed in the other car), unload the cars, and pretty much call it a night.

the next day I bid bon voyage to P&M (they were headed to Italy and Spain for the honeymoon!) and I spent the morning walking around Sydney and in the afternoon headed to Cronulla to meet up with Nerida & Geoff. We had coffee along the beach, did a bit of shopping, had a drink (or two) at a local pub, a few more back at Geoff's flat, and then went back into Sydney to dine at Diantha's--which has the BEST fried calamari on the planet....AND the turkish delight's pretty fab as well!!

the next morning my plan was to walk down to the harbour for a few parting shots of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House....but it was raining, so I modified the plan to dropping my luggage at the train station lockers, and taking the train to the harbour for a few parting shots of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. HOWEVER, it turns out there are no longer lockers for rent at the train station....and there was NO way I was going to tote all of my luggage down to the harbour for a few parting shots of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House....so I decided to head on to the airport....thinking I could check in, get rid of my luggage and then head down to the harbour for a few parting shots of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, but the train to the airport, back to the harbour [for a few parting shots, etc, etc], and then back to the airport was going to cost about $32....so I decided to skip out on going down to the harbour for my few parting shots of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House [okay, I PROMISE that's the last time I'm going to say it!!] and just went to the airport.

of course, it's now like 8:30am....my flight doesn't leave until 1pm and after I stand in line for 30 minutes, find out it's too early to check in [all the while getting strange glances from QANTAS staff, probably wondering why I'm there so early...sniff, sniff--I just don't want to miss my flight!!]. So I head to the nearest coffee shop, drink several cups of coffee, read the paper then my book, get bored, do a bit of last minute shopping [because, well, the airport is the ULTIMATE last minute shopping place!], people watch for awhile....and awhile....and ding! finally I can check in!!! Needless to say, I'm the first on my flight to check in [everyone at the Austin International Airport would be proud! If you've never checked in at the AIA, you MUST be there 4 hours early if you even hope to get a decent seat!]....more people watching. Check my email. Send out a few last minute postcards [because, again, the airport is the ULTIMATE in last minute postcard sending!]. Have a coffee, decide I need a beer. Had 2. FINALLY time to head back to the gate. There's a delay [big shocker], more waiting. Am now hungry, but no time to eat, as we're finally boarding....one last good-bye [for now] to AUS, the door shuts and soon we're on our way back to LAX.

and that in a nutshell [and several blogs] was my latest trip down under!

:) shez

ps--on the way back LAX was faaaaaaaaaaaaar less eventful that when I was going down. In fact, the only thing that happened was a few baggage handlers--apparently UCLA fans, aka not USC fans--commented on my tattoo "GO TEXAS LONGHORNS!" ahhh....I LOVE TEXAS!! :)